Monday, 17 September 2012

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time @ The Belmont Cinema!

The Curios Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is a novel by Mark Haddon about a 15 year old boy with autism. The story begins with our protagonist finding his neighbours dog, dead, with a garden fork stuck in it. A pretty strange beginning for a strange tale which although completely made up gives a rather amazing insight into the world of autism.

"Christopher, fifteen years old, stands beside Mrs Shears’ dead dog.
It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after
midnight and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in the
book he is writing to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington.

He has an extraordinary brain, exceptional at maths while
ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone
beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched and he distrusts
strangers. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on
a frightening journey that upturns his world."

The team behind the production did quite an amazing job and had a sold out run in London but thanks to the wonders of technology we got to see a live performance of the show via the Belmont Cinema. I was quite surprised to see the Screen 1 full! The stage set was very minimal, a rectangular pit with a square tiled floor. The magic started when the over head projectors kicked in, surrounding Christopher with numbers, stars and all manner of visuals to help set the scene's, check out some pics here.

I only just discovered the lead actor was none other than Luke Treadway from Attack The Block. He gave a pretty out standing performance as Christopher but the whole cast were brilliant, each person really showed the power of live theatre and what a great art form it can be. There's a great moment when Christopher is entering his house and the supporting cast provide doors, coat hooks and even a sofa for Christopher to sit on, all done with beautiful flowing movements, poetry in motion as they say.

So great story, great stage set, great actors and finally great music. The ambient soundtrack to the production came from Adrian Sutton. His compositions were the finishing touch to the production, adding that extra dimension, especially during the space scene's which elevated the play to the next level. I've always enjoyed the theatre (OK pantomimes) but this experience really changed my perceptions a bit not just about theatre shows but also about live cinema theatre screenings so if you see something that takes you fancy but your not sure then take a chance, its might just be amazing!

You can find out more about National Theatre Live screenings at the Belmont here.

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Mood of Collapse is taken from a Douglas Coupland novel. His novels are great and he also produces some interesting art too. Mood Of Collapse was originally going to be the title for a musical project which so far hasn't gone past some rough 4 track demos but it seemed quite apt for my various projects. Dancing In The Dark is the title of a Bruce Springsteen song. Its a pretty up beat song although it deals with the unknown future of the songs protagonist but ends with him being willing to put his heart on the line. I guess that's kinda how I feel about what I'm doing.

The blog aims to shine some light on creativity and culture in Aberdeen, an often over looked and undervalued part of the Scottish Cultural landscape. With a personal mission to connect the dots between artists both new and old, galleries and events, I hope to show the real value of the art in the Granite City and dispell the myth that "nothing ever happens here". Another mission is to break out beyond Aberdeen and to build connections with artists all over Scotland and further afield.

I do my best to get out and document the numerous events that happen across the city but its not always possible to make it to everything. There's a large number of people who are making, creating, curating and helping to give an interesting cultural offering from contemporary art exhibitions, live gigs, film nights or live theatre productions.

If you're interested in a particular topic eg Music, Aberdeen Art, Graffiti or a venue then type it into the search box on the top left hand side and hopefully you will find a range of posts relating to your choosen topic. If you don't find something then feel free to get in touch with me at moodofcollapse@gmail.com